Cocoa
by Darkle
Summary: ZX pregame When you're a kid, even thunderstorms can be pretty scary. Luckily, Girouette knows some of the finer points of comforting small children. But a mug of hot chocolate doesn't hurt, either.


Author's Notes: This fic is old, like waaay old. And something a companion piece, theme-wise, with Thunderclap. They were written pretty close together, but then FF and I had a tiff about the document upload manager and I neglected to post anything for a few years. Now, however, I'm finally sharing something. And it really wasn't worth the wait, sorry to say.

Also, the plush animal is supposed to be modeled off Eddie from the original series. ZX was full of so many references, I couldn't resist the urge to make my own. At any rate, standard disclaimer applies, and I hope you enjoy.

* * *

It was a dark and stormy night.

As overly cliché a statement as that was, it accurately described the current time and weather. It was some ridiculous hour of what was technically the morning--last time Girouette had bothered to check the clock it read 12:11 in large, neon red numbers. The idea of sleep was beyond futile at this point, he knew. He could hear the thunder and wind roaring outside, even though it was heavily muffled by the walls, and as long as he could hear that, any sort of slumber would remain out of his grasp.

Having come to terms with his restless fate for the night, Girouette had picked a book off the shelf, one he had started a while ago and had been meaning to finish for what felt like forever. The blond then curled up under an especially fluffy comforter with a hot mug of cocoa on the bedside dresser. If he was going to have to deal with insomnia, it might as well be on his own terms.

Thus fortified for the night's duration, Girouette figured he'd at least get some decent reading in.

He was, of course, horribly wrong.

Girouette wasn't sure how long he had been reading, completely engrossed and ignoring the world around him. It was a particularly loud boom of thunder, one that began with more of a crack as the lightning literally rent the air around it, which had eventually caused Girouette to glance up. It was a couple seconds later that he looked up again, to check and see if his eyesight was really failing him or not.

To his surprise, the strange object at the foot of his bed did not appear to be caused by his tired eyes. Which then begged the question of what Vent's stuffed animal was doing there. Well, 'animal' was hardly an accurate description; Girouette rather thought it looked like a red suitcase with huge bug eyes and legs.

Said comically large eyes were now staring at him, and if plush toys were capable of expression, Girouette would almost swear it was looking _pleadingly_ at him. Belatedly, he noticed a few spikes of brown hair sticking up behind the doll. Well, that answered the mystery of how the thing got there. Unless it had killed the boy in his sleep and scalped his head or something.

Girouette decided he really should avoid staying up this late.

"Vent?" he ventured. Two green eyes slowly rose up from behind The Thing.

Well, now he had _two_ pairs of eyes staring desperately at him, that wasn't exactly an improvement.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" A quick glance at the clock revealed that 'this' hour was in fact three in the morning. Inwardly, Girouette groaned.

"Canf eep." came the muffled reply from behind the red suitcase.

"And why not?"

"'S rainin'." The rest of Vent's head made its appearance, and the brunet rested his chin on the doll, squashing the poor thing against the bed. It made a faint 'beep' noise in protest. "Can I stay with you, please?" he begged.

Girouette held back a sigh. "Vent, it's just a storm...."

"Please!" Vent cried, looking smaller and more pitiful than Girouette had ever recalled seeing him. "I, I don't like it... It... it sounds like..."

_An explosion, the report of an arm buster, and if one listened closely, very closely, the screams of people as they were mercilessly shot down--_

Girouette blinked, snapping back to reality. Vent was still giving him imploring eyes, eyes which were suspiciously dewy. They also, the blond noticed, were red and puffy.

Without another word, Girouette quietly closed his book, setting it down on the dresser, and then pulled back the comforter on the right side of the bed. There was barely a second pause before Vent and plush suitcase crashed into the pillows next to Girouette's arm. While the boy made himself at home, Girouette contemplated what he just got himself into.

Surprisingly, it was rather quiet. Quiet, of course, except for the distant sound of thunder. With each faint rumble, Vent would cower deeper under the large blanket and whimper.

Something had to be done.

"Vent."

Green eyes, almost entirely obscured by messy chocolate spikes, cautiously peeked out from under the comforter. Said eyes widened in surprise at the porcelain mug held directly in front of them. After a moment, small hands reached out to accept the mug, and Vent wiggled out from under the blanket just enough to raise the cocoa to his lips and sip at it demurely. It was still a little warm. After he was finished with the sweet beverage, he held it out silently, and Girouette took the empty mug and placed it back upon the dresser. A minute passed without any other movement.

Another minute passed, and then Vent inched a little closer to Girouette. Just a little.

Then a little more. Just a little more.

Girouette wrapped his arm around the smaller boy, and Vent curled up into the blond's side.

When Girouette woke up the next morning, with the two of them nestled in the blanket and against each other, he couldn't help but be amused.


End file.
